<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze the effects of digital competence and artificial intelligence (AI) utilization on employee performance, with work engagement as a mediating variable among creative agency employees in Jabodetabek, Indonesia. A quantitative explanatory survey was conducted involving 184 respondents selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using an online questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using PROCESS Macro Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples and 95% confidence intervals. The results indicate that digital competence and AI utilization have positive and significant effects on both work engagement and employee performance. Work engagement also has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. The indirect effect of digital competence on employee performance through work engagement was 0.2224, while the indirect effect of AI utilization was 0.1591. Both indirect effects were significant, indicating that work engagement partially mediates the relationships between digital competence and employee performance and between AI utilization and employee performance. These findings suggest that developing digital capabilities and utilizing AI should be accompanied by efforts to strengthen employee engagement to improve performance. However, the cross-sectional design, purposive sampling technique, and self-reported questionnaire limit causal interpretation and the generalizability of the findings. This study contributes to the digital workplace literature by integrating digital competence, AI utilization, work engagement, and employee performance within a mediation framework. Practically, the findings provide insights for creative agencies to enhance digital competencies, promote responsible AI utilization, and strengthen employee engagement.]]>
